Stolen Moments
by Shootingstar7123
Summary: Companion piece to Life as a House. Sometimes it is the smaller moments that define a life. This chronicles those moments as well as some musings on the House family.
1. Seasons

Stolen Moments:

Seasons

A/N: Stolen Moments goes hand in hand with Life as a House, a collection of stories chronicling House and Cameron's life together, which you should probably read first. This will be mainly smaller moments in the life of the House family or short musings about them rather than the longer storylines in Life as a House. This will be extremely fluffy, and maybe I'll add some smut later on, who knows. Enjoy!

-

Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.

Abstract: This is an insight into the personalities of each House family member, and gives you an idea of what their lives are like.

---

James House thought summers in the House family were the best. Summer meant pool parties in the backyard with friends, and Mom's homemade lemonade recipe that she learned from Grandma.

It meant tree climbing, which was always a good way to get Mom or Dad to come outside and play with him. He didn't understand why they got so worried. He had only fallen once and he was just a baby back then.

Summer also meant visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Indiana without his parents. He and Grace would run wild—nothing could hurt them on the farm. His friends would never let him live it down if he admitted it, but those were his favorite two weeks of the summer, a last escape before school started again.

During that time his parents would be off on some vacation that sounded very grown up and boring, an early anniversary trip, leaving him and Grace to their own devices with Grandma and Grandpa. And boy did Grandma spoil them! They had homemade ice cream and dinners like they had never imagined. They might have gained weight if they weren't outside every other moment of the day. They always returned lanky and tan to school in September.

Grandpa was always teaching them things. They were the only kids on their block who knew how to caulk a boat or milk a cow. Jamie was always very sad when summer came to an end.

Gregory House, on the other hand, preferred fall. Getting the kids back in school was always a relief—he never felt so bad for working long hours as he did in summertime. When school started, Greg House was in his element; he was the best tutor either child could ask for.

The fall also contained two of his favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, and his anniversary. Okay, so only one of those was a holiday, but his anniversary was probably his favorite day of the year. It reminded him of the best (and most terrifying) choice he'd ever made.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, was House's chance to get his mother-in-law's amazing homemade meals. He had warmed up to his wife's mother the first time he sat down to a meal with her. You just can't hate someone who cooks like that.

Once they had started coming for each Thanksgiving, the other siblings started coming home for it as well. His wife didn't claim to have any influence in their decisions, but House knew better—Allison was always the favorite sibling.

House was loath to admit it, but he enjoyed being part of what felt like a "real" family. He taught Cameron's brothers to cheat at cards, and they taught him new ways to tease his wife. Yes, Gregory House preferred fall.

Allison Cameron House liked winter best, she always had. She loved the coziness of having her own family surrounding her while it snowed outside.

Greg's mother would come and stay with them for a week or two at Christmas, regaling them with the stories of Greg's childhood that Cameron otherwise never would have known.

Winter to Allison was snowmen with the children, the smell of baking cookies, the warmth of their fireplace, and Greg playing Christmas carols on the piano.

She loved lights and tinsel, and candy cane jokes at the expense of her dear husband. She loved shopping for the perfect gift, and seeing her children's (and Greg's) faces light up when they received exactly what they wanted.

She loved New Years parties with the Wilsons, and the excitement of wondering what each year would bring. Winter to Allison House was about celebrating with friends and family.

Grace House would say that she liked all the seasons best, but secretly she preferred spring. She liked it warming up just enough to go play outside again in the sunshine before it got too hot. She liked flowers, baby birds, and green trees. There was a reason her parents called her their sunshine.

Spring to Grace was dancing in the rain and picking flowers for mom. Nothing compared to the smile on her mom's face when she brought her a hand picked bouquet of daisies from the schoolyard.

Spring was new beginnings and being let out of school. Spring was painting eggs with Nana who always came to visit for Easter. It was also spring break trips to Atlantic City or Chicago with her cousins.

Grace's favorite thing about spring, though, was that Dad would always take her out of school one day and bring her to work with him. It was always in spring, and that's why Grace liked spring best—but don't tell anyone. She wouldn't like the other seasons feeling left out, now would she?

-


	2. Comfort

Stolen Moments:

Comfort

Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.

Abstract: House and Cameron are currently living together, and one day House finds Cameron crying in their bedroom. Why?

---

Gregory House came home from a long day at the hospital. He and his team had not discovered what was killing their patient, but the patient was at least stable and would hopefully keep for the night. House was exhausted and just wanted to crawl into bed beside his beautiful girlfriend and fall asleep.

When he entered the apartment, all the lights were on, but she wasn't in her usual place in the living room. It had become comforting to know he would open his front door to see her sitting on the couch with her laptop open and TV on.

However, he heard a sound from the bedroom, and headed in that direction. As he got closer, he started moving faster. The sound was crying.

He burst into the room, his eyes searching hers out to determine the cause. She was curled against the pillow with her wedding picture cradled to her chest.

"Oh, Allie…" he said, as he limped his way over to the bed. He awkwardly put a hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her. He really didn't know much about comforting women. Stacy had never wanted it. If she was upset she just wanted him to go away. That he was good at. This, on the other hand, was a whole new ball game. A game for which he didn't know the rules.

They stayed there in silence that was only broken by Cameron's occasional sobs. House felt unsure if he was doing the right thing, but Cameron hadn't pulled away from his hand, so that was something.

Eventually she spoke. "He died today," she said in a dangerously low voice.

"_Of course,"_ House thought. He had known it was this time of year, but he hadn't known the day.

"I still miss him," she said in a near whisper. "I'm sorry."

She rolled over to curl against his body, and he wrapped both arms around her this time.

"You don't have to apologize for missing him," he said. "Ever."

She only cried harder, and House wondered if he had done something wrong. However, his worries abated when the sobs tapered off and she spoke again.

"Thank you."

After another long silence she spoke. "The best thing to do is just to let me cry."

House moved to get up. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

He was stopped by a thin hand pulling him back. He turned to look at her questioningly. She looked up at him with her beautiful blue-gray eyes, like the sea on a cloudy day.

"I need you," she said.

House spent the rest of the evening wrapped around her, soothing her tears away. He woke up the next morning to an empty apartment, but noticed the note when he rolled over to get out of bed.

It had only two sentences printed on it:

Thank you. I love you.

-


	3. The Little Houses

Stolen Moments:

The Little Houses

A/N: Stolen Moments goes hand in hand with Life as a House, a collection of stories chronicling House and Cameron's life together, which you should probably read first. The point of this one is to show smaller moments rather than life changing ones. Rather than stories that take place over days or more, these will be just moments, as the title says. This will be extremely fluffy, and maybe I'll add some smut later on, who knows. Enjoy!

-

Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.

Abstract: Not really a story, more of a description of the House children.

---

Both children of Gregory and Allison House have brown hair and blue eyes, not that they had much choice in the matter.

Cameron says that they have House's eyes, and he insists they have hers.

In truth, their eyes more closely resemble their father's, though House is far too stubborn to admit it.

Grace House's long auburn curls are just like her mother's. James would have the same hair if he didn't keep it shorn close to his head, as he had since his teenage years.

Both of them are tall and lean, like Greg, and obviously intelligent, given whom their parents are, but this is where the similarities end.

Grace is like a taller version of her mother in appearance. There are aspects in her facial structure and mannerisms that are all House, but they are subtle enough that they don't get noticed right away. The longer people know her, the more they agree that she does resemble her father.

Grace's personality is like her father's in many ways. Her curiosity was overwhelming to her parents when she was a child, and she always enjoyed solving puzzles and figuring things out. Just like House, she has a comeback for everything, but she gives more thought to the time and place for such things. She is also like her mother. She has a joy and faith in the world that House can only assume she got from Cameron. She has been her parent's ray of sunshine ever since she was born. She is going into medicine. She grew up on diagnostics differentials, and is already on her way to becoming a diagnostician in her own right. She is truly her father's daughter.

James, on the other hand, was the child his parents didn't expect. He is full of contradictions, a trait that both parents claim he got from the other. He is incredibly energetic and active, yet could sit still for hours on end with a Lego or erector set as a child. He preferred creating to discovering. He is the far more serious child, less open and trusting than his sister. He does not show his emotions readily, but both his parents quickly learned how to read him. He rarely spars wits with his father, but when he deigns to respond, it's always a zinger. He is breaking the family tradition of medicine to go into architecture.

In appearance, James is very like his father, though he is a couple inches shorter. His shoulders are slightly broader than House's, but otherwise he is nearly a perfect clone. There is little trace of his mother in his appearance except for one thing—facial expression. His facial expressions are so similar to Cameron's that it often makes House laugh at inopportune moments, causing them both to get angry at him, their identical expressions of anger making it all the more hilarious.

Despite the many differences, Greg and Allison enjoy their children equally. There is one thing that every person in the House family enjoys—music. Ties of family and love notwithstanding, they will always have this one thing to draw them together.

-


	4. Ringtones

Stolen Moments:

Ringtones

Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.

Abstract: House cannot decide what ring tone to choose for his new wife.

---

House went through his iPod in consternation. Nothing fit.

He had MmmBop for the team. That was a favorite. It never got old, no matter how many times he used it.

Cuddy's song was the Black Eyed Peas, My Humps. Had she ever known, she probably would have killed him. Before that it had been Thriller, before that, Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls. Cuddy's ring tones were always fun to choose.

He had just changed Wilson's to I'll Do Anything For Love But I Won't Do That, after a few months of Aqua's Barbie Girl. He had a wealth of wonderful ring tones for Wilson, but this choice was stumping him.

What ring tone would characterize his relationship with Allison without being too mushy? He had to keep up his reputation, of course.

He had never had this problem before. When they had been hiding their relationship, he had left the ring tone as Why Don't We Do It In The Road by the Beatles. People just chalked it up to him being a shameless perv and didn't ask questions.

Barenaked Ladies' Be My Yoko Ono? No, he wasn't giving up rock and roll for anyone. Talk Dirty to Me? It might piss Allison off. I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)? The Stones were an old favorite, but he didn't wan anyone to believe he wasn't getting any. Because he was certainly getting some, as he often liked to say.

Before he could come to a decision, his phone began ringing, confusing the hell out of House. What the hell was this girly crap? Kiss Me, by Sixpence None the Richer, was playing, and he _definitely_ didn't remember setting that ring tone for anyone.

He looked down at the tiny screen and laughed out loud. Allison had beaten him to it and set her own ring tone.

Figures… she had to learn something from living with him after all.

-


	5. Baby Blues

Stolen Moments:

Baby Blues

A/N: I've written a couple of little things to tide over the Life as a House readers… I will probably not add another chapter to Life as a House until I have completed writing my other in-progress work, Saving Grace. However, I am almost done writing Saving Grace (even though only a couple chapters are posted), so hopefully it will not be too long. :)

-

Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.

Abstract: Cameron is hormonal and begins to freak out about her body at her late state of pregnancy.

---

"I look like a pumpkin," wailed a very pregnant Allison Cameron House as her husband looked on.

Cameron was absolutely regretting her choice to purchase the orange dress. What had possessed her to buy a dress of that color? What was she thinking?

Gregory House sighed. "You look fine, Allison."

Her lip trembled. "Just… fine?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, as in 'hot damn, that chick looks fine!'" House said in his gangsta imitation voice.

Her eyes narrowed. "You're just trying to placate me! Well its not going to work this time, mister!"

House never thought he'd be terrified of his sweet little wife. He apparently had not taken into account what pregnancy hormones could do to a woman.

"No, you really are beautiful," he said, attempting to convince her. "You always are."

Her eyes welled up. "How can you say that when I look like a beached whale?" She plopped down on the bed and began to cry, the fight in her gone in an instant.

House had no idea what he was getting into with this pregnancy thing. He didn't know how to deal with this! Women were difficult to begin with, but this was damn near impossible.

He sat next to her and tentatively put an arm around her. "You don't look like a beached whale."

"Yes, I do," she said stubbornly. "And I'm never going to lose this weight, and then I'll be fat and have stretch marks and my boobs will get saggy and you won't want me anymore…" she trailed off in tears.

House sighed and pulled her to him, sacrificing his dress shirt to her tears. How the hell was he supposed to fix this? Maybe she needed a distraction.

"Hey, why don't we get ready to go, and when we get to the party you can have a piece of cake? How does that sound?" he suggested.

"Stop trying to fatten me up," she cried.

Damn. Bad move. He tried a different tactic. "I still think you're sexy," he said. "Even if you looked exactly like this for the rest of your life, you'd still turn me on."

She looked at him with accusing eyes, but the tears were slowing. "Prove it," she said with a hiccup.

"I will," he said, and reached around behind her, unzipping her dress.

"What are you doing?" she asked, alarmed.

"Proving it," he answered with a lascivious grin.

He pulled the dress off her, revealing her in just a silky bra and panties. He began kissing her neck and exploring her body with his hands. After a few moments he pulled away.

"Here's your proof," he said, pointing downward. His arousal was clearly evident.

"Impressive evidence," she said, her eyes following where he pointed. She shrugged and turned to get ready. "I suppose I'm convinced. We can go to the party now."

He looked at her with incredulous eyes. "But...you have to finish what you started!"

She snorted. "Why don't _you_ finish what _you_ started?" she asked, gesturing to her large stomach.

"Sex _is_ known to start labor," House said haughtily.

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's an idea."

After they had both had their fill, Allison spoke up. "You're a liar."

"What?" her husband asked in confusion.

"Sex is supposed to start labor," she paraphrased in annoyance.

House laughed. "Not in the seventh month, Allison!"

Cameron groaned. "Goddamn it."

-


End file.
